4 Tips for Promoting Your Next Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Event

Peer-to-peer fundraising has quickly become one of the most successful strategies for increasing donations and getting supporters involved. In fact, peer-to-peer fundraising is a strategy that has been positively accepted across age groups (receptive rates: 87% Millennials, 87% Gen X, 77% Baby Boomers, 63% Matures). If your nonprofit wants to increase financial donations and engage your organization’s supporters, hosting peer-to-peer events is a no-brainer. According to VolunteerHub, the average peer-to-peer fundraiser raises $568 from seven donors. If your nonprofit creates a strategic approach to peer-to-peer fundraising events, there is no reason why your organization could not move the needle on financial gifts.

If you are new to peer-to-peer fundraising or you're looking for new ways to leverage peer-to-peer, consider the following four tips for promoting peer-to-peer fundraising events.

1. Select Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Platform Carefully and Strategically

Most peer-to-peer fundraising promotions are hosted online. These online promotions usually lead to an event, such as a run, walk, ride, concert or gathering. Your organization will utilize your existing donor and volunteer pool to reach new people and re-engage existing supporters willing to give. Since your organization is going to leverage existing supporters, it is crucial to choose a promotion strategy and platform that existing supporters are familiar and comfortable with.

In most cases, peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns leverage the social networks of supporters and fundraisers. Do you know what social platforms your contacts are using? Which social platforms your supporters engage on the most? Keep in mind that in order for peer-to-peer campaigns to be successful, your strategy needs to leverage your supporter’s audience.

2. Peer-to-Peer Messaging Matters

Choosing the platform or platforms that your supporters will use to promote your organization’s events, mission, values and goals is only part of the planning process. Your nonprofit will need to provide peer-to-peer fundraisers with the messaging needed to be successful.

In other words, what content can peer-to-peer fundraisers use to engage their audience and lead their contacts toward a specific action? The good news is your nonprofit can easily create content that elicits a response from the community. Nonprofits are in the business of touching people’s lives and making a positive impact. Make sure your organization provides peer-to-peer fundraisers with messaging that demonstrates impact.

3. Create a Process for Capturing Data

Promoting a peer-to-peer fundraising event involves the collection of data. Who are your supporters reaching? Is the overall campaign meeting your organization’s goals? Is the event being promoted interesting to potential donors? How are leads being captured and categorized?

It is imperative that your nonprofit uses data to optimize your peer-to-peer strategy and guide future initiatives.

Here are a few helpful tips for capturing peer-to-peer campaign/event data:

1. Develop and design a peer-to-peer donation/event sign-up page (make an action on this page the conversion goal).
2. Create a process for segmenting peer-to-peer data and create additional personalized campaigns that appeal to each persona.
3. Integrate your organization’s peer-to-peer platform and CRM solution.
4. Use data as an invaluable asset to improve your fundraising strategy in the future.

4. Always Thank Supporters

Peer-to-peer fundraising event participation grows when your nonprofit takes the time to thank supporters for their participation. Why? Because by doing so, your organization will retain peer-to-peer fundraisers and grow new participants for future events.

Thanking your peer-to-peer fundraisers and event participants does not have to be an overwhelming feat; simply sending supporters a thank you via email or text will suffice. Communication is one area of your fundraising campaigns that your organization cannot afford to neglect.

Takeaways

Using your donor and volunteer network to promote peer-to-peer fundraising and event opportunities is a strategy that, if done right, can provide your organization with a lot of gain for limited investment. Remember to utilize the social platforms that your supporters are comfortable with, provide messaging that will elicit an emotional response from your supporter networks, create and invest in a strategy and process for capturing campaign data, and thank your supporters for their involvement and success of your initiative.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in the 2019 September/October Edition of NonProfit PRO.